At what age did princes in the high middle ages become king?

Question

Also, in addition to the standard age they became king, what was the youngest possible age?

Answer 1

It depended on the kingdom; in most, you still ascended the throne if you were heir, but actual power would be wielded by a regent until you reached a certain age (usually around 18, or sometime in the late teens).

The youngest possible age for becoming king would be zero - some monarchies had provision for waiting if the wife of a deceased king was pregnant with the likely heir to the throne.  In practice the youngest I can find is Mary, Queen of Scots, who ascended to the throne when her father died 6 days after her birth.

Answer 2

there isnt a specific age, if the heir to the throne, the prince of wales's fahter, the king (or queen) dies they immediatley by law become the monarch, but are usually placed with regants to guide them until they become of a proper age to rule

Answer 3

Not exactly sure if there was an age set for that, but it seems a prince becomes a king when his father dies. Genetic succession...

Answer 4

Usually when daddy died.  Kings (and queens) don't voluntarily give up their thrones.  Note Queen Liz II of England.  Prince Charles will be 60 this November.

Answer 5

When the first son is born to a ruling King, the newborn will be in placed in a very special position, since he will be the future heir to the throne. As Crown Prince or Prince of Wales, he will be groomed to take the monarch's position when the King is on his deathbed. Since this may occur at any time meaning the Prince can be crowned as the new King at any moment. If the Prince is too young to govern, he will have a "regent", who is to rule on behalf of the heir to the throne succeeding the throne as a minor (under the age of 18).

Answer 6

Whenever they inherited the throne and if they were too young then a consort ruled for them until they were of age.

Answer 7

A monarch's oldest son, or in some countries his/her oldest daughter if there were no sons, became king or queen at the death of the monarch, no matter how young the heir was.  Henry Vi of England became King at the age of nine months, and Mary Queen of Scots succeeded her father, James V, when she was six or seven days old.  James, who had become King at not quite one and a half himself,  learned on his deathbed tht his wife had just given birth to a daughter.

If you're asking at what age a child king or queen began ruling in his or her own right, that age seems to have varied.  Henry Vi's regency ended when he was fifteen.  Richard II, who became King at ten, began to transition into ruling in his own right in his late teens.  In more modern times, Queen Victoria became Queen at eighteen and not quite one month.  Her uncle King William IV, was thought to have held onto life until she, his heir, was of age so that there would not have to a regency.

Answer 8

the oldest son would normally inherit when his father died.  However, if he became king when he was very young, an adult would be appointed Regent until he grew up.  Sometimes this was his mother, or it might be another near relative, like an uncle.  there was no minimum age for actually becoming King, Henry VI was only a baby when he became king for instance, but he would not be expected to assume independent rule until he was grown up, probably in his late teens.

Answer 9

There is no set age, although if a king died, leaving a "minor" who had to be governed by a regent, he usually took over as FULL king at about the age of 16, the age of majority at that time.

Actually, I'm pretty sure the youngest king ever was King Alfonso XIII of Spain, whose father died when he was still in utero, so he became king something like 3 or 6 months BEFORE he was born.  Of course, this being the late 19th century, he took the throne in his own right at the age of 18.  His mother, Christina (I believe) was the regent for the full 18 years.  He later abdicated, and a few years later, the Civil War began, and all sorts of c**p went on for 40 years.  But that's another story.

And a prince did not become king at any certain age.  He became king when his father died.

Answer 10

well, they could become king at 10 but would have regents helping them rule until they were "of age" at 18